UN raised Azerbaijan’s ‘legitimate concerns’ over Lachin Corridor: Foreign Ministry

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Discussions in the UN Security Council regarding the Lachin Corridor provided another platform for Azerbaijan to raise its “legitimate concerns,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

“Despite the obvious attempts of Armenia to exploit this institution for the purpose of a manipulation campaign against Azerbaijan, the discussions at the UN Security Council provided yet another platform for Azerbaijan to raise its legitimate concerns, including deliberate, continuous and uncorrected violations by Armenia of its commitments undertaken within the trilateral statement of Nov. 10, 2020 and to inform the wider international community in this regard,” the ministry said in a statement.

Noting that Azerbaijan’s representative during the session rejected all claims by Armenia on the closure of the Lachin Corridor and the imposing of a blockade on Armenian residents and resulting “humanitarian catastrophe” as false, the statement underscored that neither Azerbaijan nor the protesting activists in the area have blocked the corridor.

“The regime for the movement of citizens, goods and vehicles along the corridor remains unchanged, with the peacekeepers continuing to perform their duties to regulate the movement along the road. Video footage shared on social media shows the unimpeded passage of various types of vehicles, including ambulances and humanitarian convoys,” the statement said.

The statement also noted that claims concerning alleged humanitarian consequences were falsified, adding that convoys belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have passed through the corridor “without any impediment” over the past few days.

The statement further said that the Azerbaijani representative reiterated that NGO representatives started demonstrations in the Lachin Corridor after being “forcefully obstructed by apparently pre-organized and orchestrated actions of a group of persons.”

“The illegal exploitation of natural resources, which besides being inadmissible under the national legislation of Azerbaijan and relevant international instruments, is being carried out in total disregard of relevant environment-related technical standards, causing widespread and in many respects irreversible damage to the ecosystem,” the statement said.

It said the Lachin Corridor was being abused for “illegal military and other activities, including for illegal trafficking of national resources of Azerbaijan.”

It rejected official statements which it said “interfered with its internal affairs” and also called for states to “honor their obligations under the UN Charter and international law and refrain from any statements that are directed against Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

“We reiterate our call on the international community to persuade Armenia to reciprocate the offer of Azerbaijan, cease its political and military provocations, abandon its aggressive rhetoric and actions, and engage in good faith in direct negotiations to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to all issues pertaining to inter-state relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” it concluded.

Since Dec. 12, Azerbaijani ecologists representing NGOs have been protesting Armenia’s illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Karabakh region, where Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the aftermath of the fall 2020 conflict in the region.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​